My step son has an Eflight P47D plane that has not seen any air time and has seen some damage at his dads house. Ihave picturse but am unable to upload them at the moment but have a few questions to ask.
1) I know its an $80 foam plane but is it worth keeping if Ineed a new wing/ailerons, horizontal stabilizer/elevator, and push rods?
2) If it is worth keeping and replacing these parts, where can Iget them and how much will it cost? Or should he just buy a new plane?
3) I have had the thought come across for me to fix it/upgrade it if Iwere to keep it for myself, is it better to just keep the servos and stuff and throw it?

I apply the "how much is it worth to me, and how much is my time worth" rule at this point.

Not only will you have to get the replacement parts, etc., but you will spend some time rebuilding and re-assembling everything.

Allow at least 2-4 hours for all of this, which includes time to adjust and retrim every control surface, etc.

Factor that into the cost... also the inevitable missing part, that you later find you must order and wait for.


If the damage is not too bad, and I particularly like the plane, I'll go ahead and fix things.

If the damage requires some work, I may just chuck the airframe and put the parts away until at some later point I reuse them on another plane.

Well there is the RC auction coming up this weekend so maybe Iwill hold onto it now and wait to see what Ipick up at the auction. Like I said its my step sons plane so for him he doesnt understand as much as I do about the stuff even though I just got into this and he has been in it for a year. To me its just a cheap ol foam plane but might be worth some work just to get in the air. At the same time I could just as easily throw it away since his dad is going to buy him a brand new one. He was told by the guy at the hobby shop that it would be cheaper to buy a new one then to replace this one. So Ihave no attachment to it but thats also why I am wondering if the servos and wiring are even worth keeping or are they such a low quality that Imay want to throw those also?

Hang onto the electronics and motor.

You can purchase ARF profile foamy planes that are a blast to fly, don't require much work to put together and will accept the servos and components.

However these are for more advanced fliers.

You may want to take your step son out to a Club meeting, and see when the club provides training sessions, etc.

This is ultimately a cheaper route to take, as more formal training will help prevent those expensive crashes.

The ultimate goal of club training sessions is to make the pilot proficient, avoiding damage to planes and property, and keeping them interested in the hobby.

This may cost a bit more up front for a good trainer, etc. but it is actually cheaper in the long run than the alternative of frequently crashed planes while learning.